Hasp type case latch



A Y HASP TYPE CASE LATCH Filed March i2, 1952 x l JNVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 8, A195.3

HASPTYPE cAsE LATCH -Eugen -Doquier, `Iserlohn, Germany, assignor to HeinrichHulter, Jr., Iserlohn, Westphalia, Germany, a frmof Germany Y Application March 12, 1952, sentiamo. 276,109

In Germany March 29, 1951 The present inventionV relates to an improved lock for cases, in whichlatter term -is included suitcases, travelling cases-brief cases,vattach cases, hold-alls, trunks, satchels, portfolios, portmanteaux, and like articles. Moreover, the invention relates to a lock ofA thischaracter which includes a hasp, Ya latch bolt for engaging this hasp, and a pressing member for-actuating the latch bolt (and uhereinafterreferred to as a thumb piece), which member is disposed at the front side of the lock.

It is desirable to-secure, in such locks, a construction of small depth so that the body of the lock will lie flat on vthe surface of the case Whereby, Whenrthel case is .shutand in use, striking of the lock and consequent damage thereto, and eventhe unintentional unfastening 'of the lato-h which may sometimes` occunis as far as possible precluded. Y t

It has Vtherefore been proposedto :make the thumb piece pivotable and to mount it in the iront Wall of the lock'casing. In this instance the pivoting movement of the thumb piece is transmitted to a 'tongue-like, cooperating, double-armed rocking lever pair throughoblique surfaces provided on arms.' opposedtola closure nose on this rocking lever pair. Withthis larrangement it is necessary to lockthe :pivotal movement of the thumb vpiece by means of .a tumbler to permit the closure of the lock, and to this end the thumb piecev isv prcriided Witha key'- hole beneath which is. arranged a disc-form tumbler. The degree of movement of the thumb piece necessitates afairly extensive--ioivvard movement ofthe free Vedge of this thumb piece. so that the front wall of the lockingl casing 'has to be of gable-end` sectional shape to enable it ,to enclose the thumb piece on all sides.

It is. thereiore. one Qbifcct Off the present i11- vention to provide a-simplerlock construction, which. comprises a casing, athumb piece which is arranged for pivotal movement-about an axis in or on the casing, and oiset; thev face of this piece, and a latch bolt adapted to be projected into and withdrawn from, a haspor a` part on the latter, and in WhiQh the latch bolt is oi flatk section, is mounted -for longitudinal sliding, and is provided with a part having a surface oblique With respect to the path,v of travel of this latch. bolt and cooperating with apart of the thumb piece remote. from saidpivotal axis Itis another object of the present invention to provide the ydescribed, lool; construction in 'Which a single spring can be used t0 Operate both the returnl movement of the latch holt andof the thumb piece, andalso suitable tumblers may 4be "7, claims. (o1. `co2- slew arranged to provide accessv to whichfa keyhole and key guidecanl be disposed besidethe thumb piece, thus facilitating the closure of the lock. Y 'It is still another'objectof the present invention to provide a lock structure in vvhichth'el'atch bolt is -Xed Whenlocking takes place, thereby rendering the lock reliable and safe.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a lock structure in which conveniently the latch bolt has a tail at'its outer endv carries an oblique surface part, andthe VVcorresponding' outer end part of the thumb piece is adapted to ride over such oblique surface whenrthis piece is-depressed, and 'thereby pivoted, so as to cause sliding of the latch bolt and withdrawal of the same from the hasp.

It is a further object of the present invention tofprovide a lock structure in-Which the oblique surface may suitably be provided' by a tongue stamped out or likewise formed fromthe latch bolt body and bent back, to enable the latch bolt tobe made inexpensively from a single piece of sheet metal.

It is still a further object of thepresent invention toprovide` a lock structure/in which theflock can be equipped with a readily applied `enclosing cover plate provided with openings for accom.,- modation of the noutstanding parts oithe structure, e. g. the hasp and the thumb piece, whereby the front of the lock .is given av ush surface, in View of the flatand smooth'lock construction.

It is alsoan object of the present invention to provide a lock structure in which. such a cover may be of thin sheet metal andfof box shape and be dimensioned to fitv the lock casing' snugly, being simply pushed thereover and having its side Walls engaging those of the casing with a forced t, and in which in addition the front walflvof this cover may have an opening providingya keyw-ay, this keyway opening being deiinjedfbysa collar cooperating with the front platepfthe lock casing to serve as a supporting andcentering means, thereby detern-lin-ng` the required distance which the front wall of the ycover stands outwardly of the lock casing, i, e. the required distanceto provide the ush effect, by the; collar.

lIt is, yet, a further object of the present invention to provide a lock structure in which, in order to save material, the cover may be dispensed with, and the lock casing has lits. front Wall or plate, in the locked condition, flushy and substantially so with the front surface of the thumb piece, and this wall or plateihas an. indentation Vfor accommodation of the hasp. n

With these and other objects iii-view', which will become apparent in the vi'cillovving detailed structure of the lock; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through thek same, taken along the lines 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a cross-section along the lines 1-1 of Fig. 5.

The casing of the lock plate I and side Walls 2, this front Vplate being furnished with a slot 3 for the entry of a loop 5 on the hasp 4 of the lock. In addition, the plate formed by a front 'casing I can be so constructed that its front outer vface is uniplanar or flush with the surface of the thumb piece 1 and an indentation corresponding to the outline shape of hasp 4 is pressed into f plate I, so'that the hasp will lie snugly therein.

While I have disclosed two embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that A the embodiments `are given by example only and I of the lock casing has an opening 6 which is Y filled by a thumb piece 1. Furthermore a key guide is also preferably arranged in the plate, this conveniently taking the illustrated form of a rotatable cap I0 having a key hole 9.

The hasp 4 has a spring hinge II so that, on release, it will swing up automatically from the closure position, relatively to a mounting flange I2.

The latch bolt I3 of the lock, which is adapted to engage in the loop 5 of the hasp 4 to secure the closure, is moved by actuating the thumb piece 1. As is illustrated by Fig. 5, this piece 1 is arranged to pivot on a hinge pin I4 mounted in a housing I5 which covers the internal lock elements from the exterior at the otherwise open side of the lock casing.

The latch bolt I3 is arranged to slide on the bottom of housing I5 under the action of a spring I6, preferably a torsion spring, which has arms bearing respectively against the locking latch bolt I3 and a fixed part, for example the hinge pin I4, as illustrated.

'I'his latch bolt I3 has an opening I1 accommodating a guide lug I8 and also registering with the keyhole I3.

At its outer end the latch bolt I3 has a tail which is furnished with an inclined surface formed by bending up a tongue 20, this being disposed behind a freely-pivoting inturned ange 2| on the thumb piece 1. Thus, when this piece 1 is pressed in, the flange 2I slides over the inclined surface and withdraws the latch bolt I3 from its locking position, against the opposition of spring I6, whereby the nose 22 of the latch bolt I3 releases the loop 5 on hasp 4.

As will be observed from Figs. 1 to 4, the lock casing is enclosed by a box-like cover having a front wall 24 and adjoining side walls 25. These side walls are a tight fit on the walls 2 of the lock casing so as to secure the cover rmly to the lock casing when it is pushed into position over it.

The front wall 24 of the cover is provided with an opening 21 corresponding in outline shape to that of the hasp 4. In addition this front Wall 24 of the cover has an opening 28 for the thumb piece 1, and is arranged at a distance from the front plate I so as to lie flush with the parts outstanding from this plate, i. e. the hasp 4 and thumb piece 1. In this connection it is to be noted that the thumb piece 1 is preferably so cranked from its mounting around hinge pin I4 that the surface thereof lies parallel with that of the front wall 24 of the cover.

The key guide IIJ is in register with a further opening 26 having its dening rim turned back not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. A case lock comprising a casing having an opening, a thumb piece disposed in the said opening of the casing and pivotally mounted in the latter upon an axis parallel to and oifset from the front face of the said thumb piece, the said casing having a slot adapted to receive a loop member of a hasp when in locked position, and a latch bolt adapted to be projected into and withdrawn from the hasp loop, the said latch bolt being of fiat cross-section and mounted for longitudinal sliding in the said casing, the said latch bolt including a part having a surface oblique with respect to the path of travel of the latch bolt and cooperating with a part of the said thumb piece remote from the said pivotal axis, so that upon pressing Aupon the said thumb piece, the said latch bolt is withdrawn.

2. The case lock, as set forth in claim l, in

which the said part of the latch bolt having an f oblique surface comprises a tail disposed at its outer end, and in which the corresponding outer end part of the thumb piece is adapted to ride over the oblique surface when the thumb piece is depressed, and thereby pivoted, so as to cause sliding of the said latch bolt and withdrawal of the same from the hasp loop.

3. The case lock, as set forth in claim l, in which the said part of the latchbolt having an oblique surface comprises a tongue stamped out from the said latch bolt and bent back to a predetermined angle relative to the plane of the said latch bolt.

4. The case lock, as set forth in claim l, which includes a cover for the said lock, the said cover having an opening-and a slot, respectively, corresponding to the opening and slot of the said casing receiving said thumb piece and adapted to receive a loop member, respectively, and the said cover being mounted over the lock casing in such manner that its front face lies substantially flush with the forwardly outstanding thumb piece of the lock.

5. The case lock, as set forth in claim 4, in which the front wall of the said cover has an opening, the latter being defined by a collar cooperating with the front plate of the said casing to serve as a supporting and centering means.

6. The case lock, as set forth in claim 4, in which the said cover has side walls engaging the corresponding side walls of the said casing with a forced iit.

7. The case lock, as set forth in claim l, in which the front Wall of the said casing is, in the locked condition, substantially flush with the 5 front surface of the said thumb piece, and in Number which the front Wall of the said casing has an 836,536 indentation adapted to accomodate the hasp. 1,574,939 1,892,289 EUG'EN DOQUIER. 5 212371949 References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 436,777 Number Name Date 10 801,587 Hammesfahr Oct. 10, 1905 Name Date Roche Nov. 20, 1906 Scharf Y Mar. 2, 1926 Stone Dec. 27, 1932 Palmer Apr. 8, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Oct. 17, 1935 

